Prostate disorders are a common life insurance underwriting issue that we encounter with our clients.
Overview:
The primary disorders that we encounter in life insurance underwriting are Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy, known as BPH, Prostatitis, and Prostate cancer.
Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy - BPH
With BPH, the bladder may be obstructed to some extent due to the prostate gland being enlarged. Common symptoms include urgency to urinate frequently or having to go often at night.
Many times, the individual's PSA level will be elevated and prostate cancer needs to be ruled out. Medications and/or surgery may be required to relieve symptoms.
Prostatitis
Prostatitis is an inflamation of the prostate gland. Acute prostatitis is a short term problem while chronic prostatitis is a long term problem. Prostatitis is a non-issue for underwriting purposes as long as there are no other related health impairments and prostate cancer has been ruled out.
Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer found in men after skin cancer. Life insurance is available to men who have had prostate cancer. The availability and price for the insurance is dependent on a number of factors including the following:
- Age at diagnosis - Prior to age 50 is a difficult underwriting issue. Age 50-60 is available, but rates will be dependent on a large number of factors. Greater than age 60 is the most ideal situation.
- Staging - Prostate cancer is assigned a staging number based on the size and spread of the cancer.
- Gleason Score - The gleason score measures the aggressiveness of the prostate cancer.
- Treatment - The treatment of prostate cancer is a big factor in determining the availability of life insurance.
How Prostate Disorders affect your life insurance rates:
It is important to note that not all companies will do a good job underwriting prostate disorders. You need to get to the right company in order to get the most competitive rates possible. We can help as we know which companies to go to.
Each company has its own set of underwriting guidelines, but all companies are looking for the following information:
BPH - As long as this has been resolved, it is not an underwriting issue with most companies. The key is that all issues have been resolved and cancer ruled out.
Prostatitis - Again, as long as other health issues and cancer ahve been ruled out, this is not an underwriting issue.
Prostate Cancer - In order to underwrite you for life insurance, companies are going to want to know:
- Age at diagnosis
- PSA level
- Stage - what stage was the cancer?
- Gleason Grade - What was the Gleason grade?
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Treatment - Was your cancer treated with radiation, watch and wait, or radical prostatectomy?
What to expect from life insurance companies:
Most companies will postpone you for a minimum of 1 year from the date of final treatment.
The most ideal clients for coverage are those who were diagnosed after the age of 60, the PSA level was less than 20, the Gleason grade was less than 6, and the stage of cancer was either stage 1 or stage 2 meaning that the cancer was confined to the prostate, and lastly that the treatment was a radical prostatectomy.
If the treatment was by radiation seeds, the postpone period after completion of treatment may be much longer.
Given that there are so many variables involved when discussing prostate cancer, the best way for us to help you is to have you complete our underwriting questionnaire.
After you complete it, we can shop your information out to multiple companies and provide you with quality feedback as to which companies will be most competitive for you.
At LifeInsuranceAdvisors.com, our service is a no pressure, no obligation service. We'll give you the information you need to make an informed decision about your life insurance. Call us today at Toll Free (800) 909-2040. Thank you.
